Jonathan Safran Foer is one of my favorite writers, and every time I read something penned by him I am reminded why.
This is a powerful must-read. I'll pull some favorite quotes in the thread below. 1/7
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
This is a powerful must-read. I'll pull some favorite quotes in the thread below. 1/7
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
"Pathogens do not respect species boundaries, either... When it comes to pandemics, there is not animal health and human health – not any more than there is Korean health & French health. Social distancing works only when everyone practises it, & 'everyone' includes animals." 2/7
"We don’t yet know the full history of the emergence of Covid-19... But with recent pandemic virus threats from influenza viruses such as H1N1 (swine flu) or H5N1 (bird flu) there is no ambiguity: those viruses evolved on chicken and pig factory farms." 3/7
"In 2018 a group of scientists analysed the 39 antigenic shifts... that we know played a key role in the emergence of these particularly dangerous strains. Their results prove that 'all but two of these events were reported in commercial poultry production systems'." 4/7
"Imagine if our military leaders told us that almost every terrorist in recent memory had spent time in the same training camp, but no politician would call for an investigation of the training camp... This is our situation when it comes to pandemics and farming." 5/7
"The link between factory farming and increasing pandemic risk is well established scientifically, but the political will to curtail that risk has, in the past, been absent. Now is the time to build that will." 6/7
"We know how to strike at the single greatest risk factor for pandemics... [I]f we respond with sufficient wisdom, this time that is so marked by death will perhaps also be remembered... as a turning point, a time of reckoning, quiet heroism and, as the months pass, renewal." 7/7
